2010 – Page 5 – Peace Corps Worldwide

More On How To Write Like John O’Hara

Nov 02 2010

In Frank MacShane’s book on the Life of John O’Hara there is an interesting paragraph on style. O’Hara, says MacShane, thought of style mainly as a way of solving problems. For example, in fiction he believed that the way to create a convincing character was through dialogue. “Nothing,” he wrote, “could so quickly cast doubt on, and even destroy, the author’s character as bad dialogue. If the people did not talk right, they were not real people.” O’Hara had developed his gift for dialogue mainly in his short stories. The problem he faced in his novels was this: how to structure the book so that the narrative remained alive while the necessary information was presented? He is not, of course, the only novelist to face this problem. O’Hara way of solving it came about (in part) from reading Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms and Gertrude Stein’s The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. Reading these . . .

JFK's Wordsmith…Ted Sorensen

Oct 31 2010

[On the 35th anniversary of the Peace Corps, in March of 1996, Mark Gearan, then Director of the agency, had the wisdom to stage three days of celebration for the agency in Washington, D.C. One event was at the Mayflower Hotel–where the agency was hatched in a suite of hotel rooms–was a dinner and speeches by key figures in the creation of the agency and in the administration. Coming to that event that evening where many of the ‘cast of characters’ who first brought the Peace Corps into being, including Warren Wiggins. Harris Wofford was there that night and spoke; Sarge Shriver spoke, as did PCV Congressman Sam Farr, former Director Loret Miller Ruppe, and a good friend of Mark Gearan, the Ambassador to the UN, Madeleine K. Albright. Also speaking was Theodore C. Sorensen, speechwriter and special council to President John F. Kennedy. Sorensen wrote most of JFK’s speeches, including the one JFK gave at the Cow Palace in San Francisco . . .

Cheap Wine And Love Peace Corps Style

Oct 31 2010

“I thought he was a bit of a nerd,” said RPCV Stacey McKeever. That was the line that caught my attention in the detailed profile (written by Rosalie R. Radomsky) in the wedding section of The New York Times this Sunday. (NO, I don’t usually read that section, but a friend of ours was also married this weekend.) So I started to read about Stacey McKeever and Charles Fogelman who were married yesterday in New York by a friend of theirs, a Universal Life minister, at a bar/event space in Brooklyn. (That’s the way we do things in NYC!) Stacey & Charlie met during Training for Lesotho and while Charles from the very first thought that Stacey was “very pretty, and something about her independence and faith in herself is what drew me in.” Stacey thought Charlie was a nerd. Of course, at the same time, during Training, Stacey was keeping her distance from all the . . .

October 2010 Books By Peace Corps Writers

Oct 31 2010

How to Cook a Crocodile: A Memoir with Recipes (Peace Corps memoir) by Bonnie Lee Black (Gabon 1996–98) Peace Corps Writers $15.99 448 pages October 2010 • Thoreau the Land Surveyor by Patrick Chura (Lithuania 1992–94) University Press of Florida $34.95 212 pages October 2010 • Ruffling The Peacock’s Feathers: Stories From Village India by David Howard Day (Kenya 1965–66; India 1967–68) XLibris $34.99 (hardback); $23.99 (paper); $9.99 (e-book) 402 pages September 2010 • A Longing for Wisdom: One Woman’s Conscience and Her Church by Patricia S. Taylor Edmisten (Peru 1962–64) iUniverse $23.95 (cloth); $13.95 (paper) 117 pages October 2010 www.patriciaedmistenbooks.com • Okanagan Odyssey: Journeys through Terrain, Terroir and Culture (Essays) by Don Gayton (Colombia 1966–68) Rocky Mountain Books $16.95 176 pages May 2010 • Man Facing West (Stories) by Don Gayton (Colombia 1966–68) Thistledown Press $17.95 170 pages September 2010 • A Granddaughter’s Rite of Passage: Tales from the . . .

Whatever Happened to Gwyn Hyman Rubio (Costa Rica 1971-73)?

Oct 30 2010

In July 1998, Gwyn Hyman Rubio (Costa Rica 1971–73) published her first novel, Icy Sparks, to great critical acclaim. Icy Sparks was selected as one of the New York Times’ Notable Books of 1998, praised by Time Magazine, chosen as part of “The Next Wave of Great Literary Voices” in the Discover New Writers program, and picked as an Oprah Book Club Selection. Not bad as far as first novels go. Her second novel, published in 2005 by Viking was called The Woodsman’s Daughter. That story is set in the longleaf pine country of post-Civil War Georgia, revolves around Dalia, the daughter of Monroe Miller, a prosperous turpentine business owner. Both of these books received great reviews from everyone, including, most of all, Peace Corps Writers. Gwyn Hyman Rubio then disappeared! A couple day ago, however, her name popped up in an article in the Glasgow [Kentucky] Daily Times. It was a . . .

Village Life: Peace Corps Experience Enriches Me

Oct 29 2010

Jan Worth-Nelson (Tonga 1976-78) published this essay in the East Village Magazine of Flint, Michigan in September. Jan is the author of Night Blind, a novel published in 2006 and set in Tonga. You can find her essays, fiction and poetry on her web site, www.janworth.com and her blog, http://nightblindblog.blogspot.com/index.htm. She is the interim director of the Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching and teaches writing at UM-Flint. Jan was on a panel discussion at the University Michigan when the university recalled with a series of events and programs, JFK’s visit to the campus on the night of October 14, 1960, and introduced the idea of a ‘peace corps’ to the students at a 2 a.m. rally on the steps of the Student Union. ] I’m not sure what I was doing on Oct. 14, 1960, when John F. Kennedy came to the University of Michigan, stood on the steps of the Michigan Union and . . .

From the Volunteer and RPCV

Oct 28 2010

Mother Ship or Death Star, the voice of PC/DC, the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington DC dominates in public records. It has been difficult for me to get beyond the administrative mode to find the authentic voice of actual Peace Corps Volunteers and others outside of official Washington. The DOS or Description of Service, the new Digital Library, the Information Collection and Exchange or ICE, and information from the Peace Corps Offices in Host Countries all include sources from outside PC/DC. The late, but still lamented Peace Corps Library should also be included. Let us start with the DOS and the Digital Library. Description of Service, or DOS. Sometimes referred to as COS, Close of Service document. Early Volunteers received a generic description of their service. It was the same for all members of the group, regardless of individual activities. The purpose for the DOS was to verify Peace . . .

Potluck Peace Corps–Here's A NYC Event To Attend

Oct 27 2010

Are you interested in what you might eat during your Peace Corps service? Did you already serve in Peace Corps and love a certain dish from your host country? Whether you are considering Peace Corps service, are in the application process, or have already served, this event is for you! Friends and family are welcome. Come to this event to share some food from around the world and hear more about the Peace Corps experience. Peace Corps Potluck Wednesday, December 15, 2010 6:00 pm Special Guest Speaker: Bonnie Lee Black, (Gabon 1996-98) author of How To Cook a Crocodile: A Memoir with Recipes New York Regional Office Varick and Houston Street * RPCVs: Please bring a dish from your host country to share! If you want to attend, email Lisa Reitmeier at: lreitmeier@peacecorps.gov Bonnie Lee Black joined the Peace Corps at the age of fifty, after having been a writer/editor and chef/caterer . . .

Norm Rush Reviews V.S. Naipaul's Latest

Oct 26 2010

Here’s a match up. Norman Rush (Botswana CD 1978-83) reviewed V.S. Naipaul’s new book: The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief that Knopf just published. The book covers Naipaul’s 2008-2009 trip to Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Gabon, and South Africa. Rush’s review is in The New York Review of Books (November 11, 2010) issue and opens with this line: It’s hard to be fair to V.S. Naipaul. You know the review is only going to get better. Norm goes onto write, “Hanging over the varying approaches to Naipaul’s work is the bad air released by Patrick French’s biography.” That book, The World Is What It is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul came out in 2008.) Rush, and his absolutely charming and beautiful wife, Elsa, were co-directors in Botswana where, from all accounts, Norm handled the paperwork and Elsa handled the PCVs. From all accounts they were great directors and why . . .

How To Write A Novel

Oct 26 2010

Fifty years ago, when I was going through Training for Peace Corps/Ethiopia at Georgetown University, I heard Katherine Anne Porter was speaking at a creative writing program, also taking place on campus, so I cut my classes and went to hear one of the most famous writers of the South. Katherine Anne was not part of the Agrarian movement, (men like John Crowe Ransom, Robert Penn Warren, etc.) but she was a great short story writer and had that year (1962) published her only novel, Ship of Fools. Talking about her novel, she made two points that I still remember, fifty years after sneaking into the lecture hall. One point was that she had written the last chapter of her novel first, and that was 20 years before she finished writing and publishing the book. She said that she had to write the last chapter first as she needed to know how the novel ended before . . .

Peace Corps Director Delivers Keynote Address At American University School of Public Affairs Tonight

Oct 25 2010

American University’s School of Public Affairs annually grants the Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership. The Award recognizes two public servants in the federal government whose careers are marked by extraordinary effectiveness in organizational development and a strong commitment to training and education managers and executives. This year’s awardees are: Kenneth E. Baker, Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator, Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, National Nuclear Security Administration Margaret A. Focarino, Deputy Commissioner for Patents, Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce Aaron S. Williams, Director of the Peace Corps, will deliver the keynote address. In 2011, the Peace Corps will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding.

Where To Go To Find A Title For Your Novel?

Oct 25 2010

In his introduction to his novel Tough Guys Don’t Dance (1984) Mailer thanked Roger Donoghue [a former boxer who trained Marlon Brando for the movie, “On the Waterfront”] for telling him a story that resulted in a title for Mailer’s novel. It came from a story that Donoghue told Mailer: Frank Costello, the Murder Inc. kingpin, and his beautiful girlfriend greet three champion boxers in the Stork Club. Costello demands that each, in turn, dance with the woman, and each nervously complies. The last Willy Pep, suggests that Mr. Costello dance. The title is the punch line is the title of Mailer’s novel. “Tough Guys Don’t Dance,” answered Costello. So, the next time you’re in the Stork Club…

Good Books To Read On How To Write

Oct 24 2010

The Elements of Style by William Strunk & E.B. White The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear by Ralph Keyes The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging by the editors of the Post. Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction–and Get It Published by Alfred Fortunato and Susan Rabiner The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers by Betsy Lerner The Portable MFA in Creative Writing by The New York Writers Workshop On Writing Well by William Zinsser Also check out: Poets & Writers magazine (www.pw.org) www.awpwriter.org

Another Cook Book from Nancie McDermott

Oct 22 2010

We met Nanci McDermott (Thailand 1975-78) years ago when she was living in California and had published her first book on Thai cooking. She is now ‘back home’ in North Carolina, and doing ‘home coming.’This is an article about Nanci that appeared this last Wednesday in The Charlotte Observer and written by Andrea Weigl: Nancie McDermott wants you to bake pies. But she doesn’t insist on a homemade pie crust. Her recipes don’t assume you own a Kitchen Aid standing mixer. Your pies do not have to turn out as pretty as the pictures in her latest cookbook, “Southern Pies: A Gracious Plenty of Pie Recipes from Lemon Chess to Chocolate Pecan.” “I would like to be the enemy of perfectionism,” McDermott says. “There’s so much of that in food.” Rather, she says, “let the beautiful thing inspire you, not intimidate you.” This is the 10th book from McDermott, 58, . . .

10 Simple Things To Do To Improve Your Prose

Oct 22 2010

Here are a few suggestions to help you write like a writer. 1. Read great books, but also read bad books that will show you how Not to Write! 2. Write about what you know and where you lived and what you did in life. You have a ‘feel’ for that and it will come through in your writing. 3. Write about people and incidents you know. Use the correct names and places to keep it real. Later you can change the names and locations and call it fiction. 4. If you get hung up trying to remember a fact or piece of history, just leave it and move on and get ‘something’ written. You can drown doing research. It’s easy. Writing it hard. 5. Write everyday, even if it is only a few lines. Hemingway, they say, wrote only 50 words a day and then went fishing. (Actually I think he . . .

Archive - 2010